For how long have you been using Fluxiom?

Since day one, really. I was one of the early beta testers for the service, and started using it in earnest on the day the doors were opened to the public. That was in the second quarter of 2006, if memory serves me well.

“SSL security is essential in protecting my clients.”

How many shots do you have in your Fluxiom account now?

I don’t keep everything in there, but it’s well in the hundreds now. I signed up for the “Pro” plan, which provides me with the storage and features I need, and at a price point reasonable enough to easily fit into my monthly studio expenses. It also comes with SSL security, which is essential in protecting the confidentiality of my clients.

You don’t use Fluxiom as an archive, then?

I don’t indeed, but I am planning to someday. I already had a system of my own when I got started with Fluxiom, although it’s certainly a lot more involved to maintain. It was actually great being able to add Fluxiom to my workflow, without having to entirely re-tool the way I did things. When you think of it, it’s a testimony to its flexibility! [Laughs.]

This being said, I have friends who already do, and Fluxiom is terrific for that, with the tagging and full metadata searching.

“I am no über-geek.”

So, what, to you, is Fluxiom?

You know, I’m no über-geek. To me, Fluxiom is a way to freely share files (some of which are huge) with clients or editorial bureaux without dealing with FTP settings and security issues.

It’s also a great way to share comps and shots with my clients. For each specific project, I can just create a “stage” and my clients can browse and preview the shots as they please.

The “sneak preview” feature allows me to ensure the pictures get to the right people by giving a convenient early access to the full shots but limiting the user’s ability to download them.

Would you say Fluxiom supports your identity?

Definitely! As a photographer, I am very sensitive to the “design factor” in everything I do and share with the world. This extends to what surrounds my pictures, whenever I can control it, because what surrounds a work tremendously affects how the viewer perceives it.

Fluxiom is wonderful in that regard. Not only can I customise it to fit my brand, it is smoothly designed and a joy to look at, even in its default state. With Fluxiom, I can present just the right shots to the right clients in exactly the right way.

I treat Fluxiom like a business card. It should be straightforward, fit into my overall image and draw people towards my work. In fact, that’s why I also use the service as a virtual business card, to build portfolios for those jobs that require a specific selection.

Any advice for beginner photographers who wish to follow in your steps?

Yes, don’t squander your money in useless gadgets, but make sure your core set of tools is sound and solid. Fluxiom is definitely one of the investments I would recommend considering. Of course, tools aren’t everything, so don’t forget to work on your art, too!

Born in Vienna in 1969, the year of the first manned mission to the moon, Christof Wagner is one of the rising stars of editorial and artistic photography in Europe. Known for his portraits of personalities (Madeleine Albright, Peter Ustinov), his iconographic narration of current events as well as for his countless shots of beautiful, anonymous faces, he heads, since 2005, a thriving independent studio. The life of a successful freelance artist usually entails lots of painful administrativia. Christof Wagner, however, is not an ordinary man. That’s why he was among the first to rely on Fluxiom to organise his books and exchange photos with his clients, all around the globe.